Located in northern Europe, the Republic of Finland has a population
that speaks Finnish and Swedish, and 83.6 percent are Lutherans.

The first known Finnish native to join the Church was Gustaf Wallgren
who was baptized 30 Oct. 1860 in Sweden. He left Sweden to work in Finland
in 1861. It is not known if he baptized anyone, although he did report
sharing his newfound faith with others. The first missionaries were Swedish
brothers Carl A. and John E. Sundstrom. They preached in Vaasa and
performed the first baptisms in the country: Johanna Berg and Johanna
Sundstrom on 5 May 1876. During the first decade in Finland, the
missionaries worked among Swedish-speaking Finns, and by 1886 had baptized
25 people. In the mid 1880s the Finnish government tightened restrictions
on religious freedom, and little work was done there with the exception of
periodic visits from leaders headquartered in Sweden. In 1903, Elder
Francis M. Lyman of the Quorum of the Twelve visited Finland and blessed
the land. In 1905 Finland came under the stewardship of the Swedish
Mission.

Efforts were made to establish branches in several areas, but none were
permanent until Anders and Lovis Stromberg were converted in 1910 in
Larsmo. A permanent branch was eventually established there. As late as
1941, all Church members in Finland had their records in Larsmo. With the
commencement of World War I all ties between the Larsmo branch and the
mission were severed. In 1922, a Finnish law was passed allowing full
religious freedom. Still, missionaries did not visit the branch until the
1930s. The beginning of World War II effectively halted missionary work.
During the war, packages of food and clothing sent by members in Sweden
helped sustain members in Finland. On 11 August 1945 the Larsmo Branch was
reorganized. In 1946, seven missionaries from Sweden were sent to Finland.

During his 1946 trip to Europe, Elder Ezra Taft Benson then of the
Quorum of the Twelve, visited Finland and blessed the land. Up to this
time, missionary work was focused only on the Swedish minority that lived
in Finland, but that changed with the arrival in Finland of Mark E.
Anderson on 3 November 1946. He had been given the assignment to learn
Finnish and preach among the Finnish-speaking majority. Other missionaries
assigned to learn Finnish were soon to follow.

On 1 September 1947 the Finnish Mission was officially organized with
Henry A. Matis, an American with Finnish roots, as president. Membership in
Finland was 129 when Matis arrived. During the seven years that he served,
the Church gained legal status (1 July 1948), began microfilming Finnish
Church records (December 1948-November 1955) and translated and published
the Book of Mormon in Finnish (December 1954). English lessons and
basketball became effective missionary tools during those years. During
the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, President Matis served as liaison for
the United States Olympic Committee and missionaries served as interpreters
for the various U.S. teams.

Between 1955 and 1958 several plays were staged under the direction of
Fred Adams, who went on to found the Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar
City, Utah. The first meetinghouse specifically built for Church services
was dedicated in H?eenlinna on 20 Dec. 1959. The first temple trip to
Switzerland for Finnish-speaking Latter-day Saints was made in June 1960
when the temple ceremony in Finnish became available.

In August 1976, President Spencer W. Kimball spoke to nearly 2,000
members at an area conference in Helsinki. The next year, the Helsinki
Stake, was organized on 16 Oct. 1977.

Finnish members were the first to introduce the gospel to Estonia and
parts of Russia (see Estonia history). The Helsinki East Mission was
created in 1990 to serve members in Leningrad and other areas in the Soviet
Union. It was discontinued with the creation of the Russia missions in
1991, although Finnish leaders were among those called to serve in Russia.

Nearly half the members in Finland attended the commemoration of the
50th anniversary of the Finnish Mission, held in September of 1997. Among
them was 92-year-old Henry A. Matis.

In general conference on 2 April 2000, President Gordon B. Hinckley
announced that a temple would be built in Helsinki, and ground was broken
for the temple in the Helsinki suburb of Espoo, 29 March 2003. Two former
missionaries have returned to Finland as U.S. ambassadors, Mark A. Austad,
who served as ambassador 1975-1977, and Keith Nyborg who served 1981-
1986.

The president of the Republic of Finland, Tarja Halonen, visited Salt
Lake City, Utah, during the 2002 Winter Olympics. While there she met with
President Gordon B. Hinckley at a private reception prior to the official
Olympic Banquet of Finland that featured a 100-voice men's choir of
missionaries who had served in Finland.

The Helsinki Finland Temple was dedicated 22 October 2006 in four
sessions by President Gordon B. Hinckley, his 95th dedication or
rededication of the Church's then 124 temples. The temple district spanned
12 time zones, including most of Russia, to be the largest temple district
of the time. Proceedings of the dedication were broadcast by satellite to
62 sites throughout eastern Europe to an estimated 15,000 members.